Search - Mahler, Frank, Gallogly :: Symphony 2

Mahler's Second - The First

Peter Carlston | Brookline, NH, USA | 06/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Done in 1936 this must surely have been the first recording of this symphony. The previous reviewer on the Amazon site referred to the clarity of the massed orchestra and chorus, as well as the soloists - that is what I remember. The previous reviewer referred to the contralto solo with a phrase I would have used - "achingly beautiful." I would have also referred to my memory of the hushed mystery of the chorus as they sang the "auferstehen" passage. If you are considering purchase of this recording, you must know that it had to be made at one shot. There was no tape. The microphones, mixed with equipment that was primitive compared to today's sound boards, was then sent to the master cutter lathes, where the recording on this album was a true "direct to disk" technique. Why do I refer to my "memory" of this recording? Because I first heard it in the late 1950s on the original 78s. Powerful. My hearing of this work was one of the major influences in my continued interest in classical music, including once as a tenor member of the chorus in a performance at Wolf Trap near Washington DC in the 1970s. One of my few regrets in life is that I did not keep the 78s when I left the Washington DC area. Don't let the 1936 date hold you back. This is a powerful, yet sensitive performance, sound engineered by the best in the business."

The first, and one of the best!!!

Interplanetary Funksmanship | Vanilla Suburbs, USA | 05/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't expect this disc to unseat Bruno Walter's authoritative New York Philharmonic recording (CBS Masterworks MB2K-45674) as the critics' all-time favourite version - after all, this early recording can only be found on an independent label I stumbled upon quite by accident. Even then I had to re-order it twice from the record store because they lost the order. For two months I waited for this recording, but it was worth the wait.



Usually, when hearing recordings originally released on 78 rpm records - and especially on knockoff labels - one expects to sacrifice sound quality for that all-important goal of obtaining a "historical recording." Surprisingly, Biddulph must have had an immaculate master copy from which it transferred this recording: The sound is state-of-the-art (for 1935), the microphone picking up solo instrumentalists just as readily as various sections or the entire orchestra itself. The dynamic range of the varied instrumentalists and soloists attests to the great care Ormandy himself chose in rendering this piece. There is also a minimum of surface noise from the original discs, although I can't detect that this is a result of radical filtering. The only drawback to this disc is that it was recorded pre-hi-fi, but I wasn't expecting a full frequency range, anyhow.



But, most important of all is Ormandy's performance, which is strikingly similar to his 1970 release with the Philadelphia Orchestra (RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-7066, now available on RCA Japan BVCC-38283): He opens the first movement with a fiercely driven tempo that recalls some of his great Columbia recordings to mind (Franck's Symphony, Sibelius' Fifth Symphony, Saint-Saens' "Organ" Symphony with E. Power Biggs, among others). Despite the lightning-quick tempi, the orchestra has a well-polished, "warm," tone, and the strings have a strong, unified sound, stringendo at times, austerely dampened at others (this in contradistinction to the 1970 release, in which the strings have more of that characteristically lush "Philadelphia Sound.").



Ann O'Malley Gallogly's contralto sets an achingly beautiful yet desolate to the tone of the fourth movement (Urlicht). Here, the orchestra is held back, as they are in the opening to the finale, in tempo and in dynamics. The movement opens tragically, sadly, the horns tolling a haunting funeral dirge. From these depths, a rousing and triumphant finale wells up, trumpets sending forth a piercing, audible light. Ormandy employs church bells from Minneapolis which, though slightly out of tune, ring joyously above the music. The chorus comes across as solemn and impassioned. One senses the exaltation of Christ's resurrection and defeat of evil.



This recording of Mahler's 2nd is a welcome addition to any lover of great music, for after over 60 years, it still has the power to excite and inspire. If you haven't heard this sterling recording, then what better one to go to than one which introduced this masterwork to so many?"